Stupid is as stupid does
by Tom Sullivan
Many have commented on the recent Facebook posting by a Georgia Republican state senator. Fran Millar complained about siting an early voting location in a South DeKalb mall heavily used by African American residents, a location with large black churches nearby. Millar then made things worse in followup comments:
“I would prefer more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters. If you don't believe this is an efort [sic] to maximize Democratic votes pure and simple, then you are not a realist. This is a partisan stunt and I hope it can be stopped."
That sentiment among Republicans goes back at least to Paul Weyrich's oldy-goldy, Goo-Goo syndrome speech from 1980.
George Chidi, a Georgia journalist writing in the Guardian, acknowledges the partisan flavor of the location decision, calling the plan "a gigantic middle finger to Republicans intent on suppressing black voters." But if Republicans want to head off "the coming demographic Armageddon," Chidi believes, they might just want to start courting those black voters.
Considering that early voting will begin in a few weeks, I want pivot to Millar's crack about preferring "more educated voters" to more voters generally. It's easy to sneer at Millar for (basically) calling constituents stupid. Besides being condescending, it's not the message to send people right before you ask for their votes.
Yet, I sometimes hear the same from lefties about poor, white, Republican voters. Occasionally, they just blurt out that voters are stupid. More often it's couched in a dog-whistle complaint about people voting against their best interests. Which, if you think about it, is just a more polite way of saying the same thing.
As a field organizer in the South, I remind canvassers that, no, those voters are not stupid. They're busy. With jobs and kids and choir practice and soccer practice and church and PTA and Friday night football and more. Unlike political junkies, they don't keep up with issues. They don't have time for the issues. When they go to the polls they are voting to hire someone to keep up with the issues for them. And when they look at a candidate -- your candidate -- what they are really asking themselves is simple: "Is this someone I can trust?"
One of my favorite southernisms is, "I wouldn't trust anyone my dog doesn't like." That, I caution canvassers, is how most Americans really vote, like it or not. And if you don't purge the thought, those "low information" voters? They will know you think they're stupid before you do. Right before you ask for their votes.